Valve-operating device



March 1930- D. M. BELCHER I I VALVIE OPERATING DEVICE Filed July 2?, 1924 Patented Mar. 4, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE DONALD u. BELCHER, or WINCHESTER, massacnosn'rrs, assronon 'ro corrm VALVE comramr, or NEPONSET, massacnoser'rs, A conrona'rron or MAINE VALVE-OPERATING nnvrca Application filed July 25, 1924. Serial No. 728,145.

This invention relates to valveoperating devices and has for its object to provide simple, efiicient and powerful means for operating large or small gate, sluice way or othervalves. either by manual or power operatin means.

Int e accompanying drawings wherein I have shown merely for illustrative purposes one embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 1 is a vertical section, partly in elevation, of a ate valve stand showing the valve stem an instrumentalities for operating the same;

1g. 2 is a section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1; and v Fig. '3 is a detail vertical section of the upper end of a gate stand showing a modifie form of valve stem operating means.

' In the preferred exemplification of my inzo vention I have shown a.hollow pedestal or stand 1 arranged to enclose a ortion of a valve stem 2 of well known form ierein screw threaded for a portion of its length and engaged by a nut 3 having corresponding screw 1 threads and rotatably mounted in appropri ate bearings such, for example, as ball bearin' 4 and 5 arranged within said stand.

he valve shaft or stem 2 is preferably arranged for axial movement only, any m tary movement thereof being prevented because of its connection with the ate of the valve which it operates, but as t is feature of the invention is well known to those familiar with the art the valve and its connecasftion with said'stem have been omitted, the stem being shown broken off just below the base of the stand 1.

Axial movement of the valve stem may obviou sly be effected in many ways but I prefer to provide both manual and power operating means, each capable of being operably connected up with one valve stem actuating means to the exclusion of the other operating means."

The manual operating means hereinshown includes a handwheel 6 secured to a vertically arranged shaft 7 that is journalled to rotate ina part of the stand 1. v

A driving gear preferably in the form of a bevel pinion 8 is secured to the shaft 7 and is adapted to be moved into and. out of opoperating engagement with the gear 9, said pimon being secured to a tubular driving member 11 axially bored at '12 to receive theend of a power shaft 13 such, for example, as the armature shaft of an electric motor 14.

To allow for a limited axial movement of the member 11 desirableto efiect movement of the pinion 10 into and out of engagement with the gear 9, the shaft 13 is provided with a key 15 which slidably engages in a groove 16 formed lengthwise of the bore of said member 11.

I desirably arrange the gears 8 and 10 with their axes substantially coincident, with the shaft 7 of the gear 8 journalled in an eccentric bushing 15 so that the teeth of the gears 8 and 9 may be properly adjusted to compensate for wear.

Upon the opposite side of the axis of the gear 9 from the pinion 8, the member 11 of the pinion 10 is 1ournalled in a bushing 16" su ported in an adjustable sleeve 17, preferably having screw threads 18 upon its outer face arranged to enga e corresponding internal threads 19 upon a xed part 20 attached to a hollow extension 21 of the stand, said sleeve 17 serving as a carrier for the bushing 16* with which it is mounted for conjoint rotary and axial movement, whereas, the driving member 11 although compelled to move axially with said sleeve 17 by a flange 22 at its upper end and a detachable collar 23 at its lower end, each engaging its respective end of the bushing 16*, is permitted to be rotated independently of said sleeve by the motor 14 to impart movement to the gear 9 when in I engagement therewith.

Rotary motion is lmparted to the adjustable sleeve 17 relatively to its support herein by a handwheel 24 which is appropriately secured thereto as by key 25, whereupon a combined rotary and axial movement of said sleeve may be effected to move the teeth of the gear into and out of mesh with those of the gear 9.

It is desirable at times to lock the gear 10 i in its adjusted position preferably when it is in engagement with the gear 9, hence the handwheel 24'is1provided with ratchet teeth 26 to engafige with a pawl 27 yieldingly mountratchet.

Desirable. the screw m eans'hereinbefore described is arranged to move the gears 8 and 10 Y in unison so that when one moves into mesh with the gear 9 :the'other will be disengaged shaft 7 and handwheel 6 to therefrom and vice versa, thereby preventing stripping. of the teeth from said gears. To accomplish this result a rod 30, attached to one or the other of said gears but not to both, fills the space between them so that as the member 11 moves up to cause its pinion 10'to engage the gear 9, said rod will push the ear 8 out of engagement with said gear 9, an conversely as said car 10 is lowered. the gear 8 will be forced d own' by its weight and that of the again engage the teeth of the gear 9.

The motor 14 may be supported in operating relation to the member 11 in any appropriate manner but preferably it'is secured' to the standl as herein shown.

As reviously stated, -motion is imparted from t e-gear 9 to the nut B'hy appropriate gearing adapted to rotate said nut at the proper ed ratio, and this gearing may likewise em ody different forms, for example, in Figs; 1- and 2 said'nut is shown reduced at 31 to fdrm a shoulder 32 and against this shoulder is secured and keyed a hub 33, To the hub .33 inturn'is secured a wlormgear 34 engagin a wo'rmj35, tlie latter journalled in suita le. earings 36-v carried b' the stand 1.

End thrust ball bearings?) .may also. be

provided as shown,'to take the thrusts oisaid worm.

It iswithin the scope andjpurpos'e of the invention to extend the worm shaft'directly to the gear 9 but as it is desirable 'often to change the ratio of the'gearing andtd replace the worm and other parts because of wear, 'I prefer to providecoupling-vmeans between said gear 9 and Warm 35 consistin of a female coupling section 38 detachably secured to the hub 39 of the gear 9 which is'fo'r convenience journalled' in a bearing 40 "in said stand.

- The shaft of said'wo'rm 35 isappropriately shaped at 41 to fit said coupling section 38,

xed part 20 of the frame when said nut 3, which is preferably cylindrical at least for a portion of its length, is journalled to rotate in a bushing 43 mounted in said stand and this hearing is assisted' in properly supportingxthe nut by a bearing 44 formed also in a pprtion of said stand and engaged by a bearing or friction ring 45 herein detachably secured to the hub of said gear 33 so as to be readily replaceable when it becomes worn. 7

It is desirable in devices of the nature shown herein to enclose theworking parts such as the gearing and to run, them in oil or other suitable lubricant but to facilitate; assembling and access to make repairs said standard is preferablymade in sections one separation substantially following the axis of the worm 35 as shown at 46 or section line 2--2 Fig. 1, and having the abutting edges of 1 the casing rovided with bolt fla'nges47 4- It is not a ways desirable to gear down-from the motor 14 to the .nut 3 by means of warm gearing as shown inFigs. 1 and 2 and this invention is not, therefore, limited to such a.'. construction but for this purpose other. forms of gearing such, for example, as a bevel ear drive illustrated in the modified form of ig. 3 may be employed. Here the stem 2 and nut 3 may be made as before, ahub 48 being secured to the reduced and shouldered said nut and keyed as shown at 49, a

To the hub 48 is secured a bevel gear ring 50 which meshes with a bevel inion 51 driven b the gear 9 through ashaf o viously take the pl'ace'of the worm 36 and its shaft shown in the preceding figures.-

Wherea worm drive isemployed'the worm shaft is arranged substantially tangential to its worm but where a bevel gear drive is used the pinion shaft-52, for exam 'le, would have its axis arranged in a radia line from-the center of the valve stem 2' to the axis of the shaft bearing the gear 10, see Fig.- 2,

, To facilitate making such chan es in the style, type and ratio of gearin use p transm tt g m t n to sa d v lve sen the, tan

is. tufthr idivi .asisn ari ,;'5aFi 1- .p mitting the entire uppersectipn or atlast that Fen an-wh h.c ete afi t e. et r i g re .l me e and. rep seed b a section similar, for example, tothe part4 Q4 shown in Fig. 3, containing tha bggel, gear it I I Although .I have shown in the. accompanying drawings, and described in the foagegoing specification, specific embodi mentsof my invention it is to be understood thatthe invention is not limited thereto but may be mapart of t 52 which may 3 in combination, a valve stem, means to impart movement to said stem including a driven gear, a manually operable pinion adapted to operatively engage said gear, a po'werdriven pinion coaxially arranged to move axially in a plane substantially at right angles to the axis of said driven gear and adapted to operatively engage saiddriven gear and means to move one of said pinions into and the other out of engagement with said gear.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, in combination, a valve stem, means to impart movement to said stem including a driven gear, a power shaft, a driving gear axially movable relative to said power shaft into and out of operative engagement with said driven gear, means for effecting the axial movement of said driving ear, and normally inactive ratchet means a apted automatically to become operative upon movement of said driving gear into engagement with said driven gear, positively to prevent disengagement of a the power driving gears.

3. In an apparatus of the class described, in combination, an axially movable valve stem, means to im art axial movement to said stem including'a riven gear, a power shaft, a driving gear axially movable upon said power shaft into and out of operative-engagement with said driven gear, screw means for efiectmg the axial movements of-s'aid driving gear, and normall inactive ratchet means adapted automaticalg to become operative upon movement of said driving gear into engagement with said driven gear, positively .to prevent disengagement of said gears.

4. In an apparatus of the class described,

I in combination, an axially movable valve stem, means to impart movement to said stemincluding a driven gear, a motor shaft, a driving gear axially'movable u on said motor shaft into and out of operative engagement with said driven gear, screw means or effecting the axial movements of said driving gear,

apted automaticall to become operative upon movement 0 said driving gear into enga ement with said driven gear, to prevent isengagement of said gears,'-and means for releasing said ratchet, means. a

5. In a valve operating mechanism, in com- 6. In an apparatus of the class described, incombination, a valve stem, means to impart movement to said stem including a driven gear, a motor shaft, a driving gear axially movable upon said motor shaft into and out of operative engagement with said driven gear, means for effecting the axial movement of said driving gear, normally inactive ratchet means adapted automatically to become operative upon movement of said driving gear into engagement with said driven gear to prevent disengagement of said gears and means for releasing said ratchet means.

7. In an apparatus of the class described, in combination, a valve stem, means to impart movement to said stem to open and close the valve, including a driven gear, a motor shaft, a driving gear movable into and out of operative enga ement with said driven gear, means for efl ecting relative movement between said drivin gear and said driven gear into and-out o operative engagement, normall inactive ratchet means adapted automatically to become operative upon movement of said gears into operative engagement to prevent disengagement of said gears and means for releasing said ratchet means.

bination, a valve stem, means to impart axialions, power means for'operating the other of movement to said stem, including a driven shaft, bevel ear means operatively connected with said. 51m, a pair of bevel pinions, manual means for operating one of said pinsaid pinions, and manually operated screw means positively to lock said power-operated vpinion in positive operative re ation with said vel gear means. 

